Take a Minute to Read This Story About Ted Cruz and Executions

I know that the story of Tailgunner Ted Cruz’s lascivious fascination with putting people to death is probably going to win him points among the bloodthirsty Bible-bangers he’s seeking to impress. But. Lord above, the story makes him sound creepy as hell.

Mr. Cruz became devoted to Mr. Luttig, whom Mr. Cruz has described as “like a father to me.” During his clerkship, he presented his boss with a caricature of him and other clerks pulling a stagecoach driven by the judge. According to someone who saw the illustration, there was a graveyard behind them with headstones representing the number of people executed in their jurisdiction that year … But Mr. Cruz usually reserved his enthusiasm for his unsparing death penalty memos or the late nights when a prisoner from the appeals circuit under Chief Justice Rehnquist’s oversight was slated for execution. On those nights, when he was responsible for addressing the flurry of 11th-hour motions from defense lawyers, he would rouse the chief justice at home, give his recommendation, get the chief justice’s vote and then write up a memo that explained why the chief justice had voted to deny an emergency postponement of the execution. Per custom, Mr. Cruz, whom some clerks recalled as speaking flippantly of the execution during those solemn nights, would circulate that memo to the other eight clerks on duty, who would then call their bosses to vote on the appeal. During one of those late-night executions, some clerks received an additional message from Mr. Cruz on the internal email pleading for more collegiality, especially toward him. “We should all try and get along,” Mr. Cruz wrote.

Uriah Heep with the heart of a hangman. Trump, I understand. This guy, though, seems seriously twisted.